“A Compassionate Vision”: Larry Burrows's Vietnam War Photography

Abstract

During the Vietnam War, photojournalists had opportunities to develop a fresh visual awareness about war and its representations, especially those who stayed for long periods. This article focuses on Life magazine photographer Larry Burrows whose work constitutes both a remarkable documentary chronicle of the conflict and a subjective register of his own shifting perspectives. The evolution of his work over nine years in Vietnam illustrates some of the tensions—subjective and professional—that attend the role of the photographer-as-witness. Burrows's efforts to construct a “compassionate” point of view in his work reflect moral ambiguities of this role.

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